POCSO Act amendment gets thumbs up from B-town

The Centre has given its nod to an ordinance to amend the existing Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, allowing courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping minors, and Bollywood is all praise for it.
At the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2018 function, former actress and producer-director Divya Khosla also spoke in favour of the ordinance.
“I feel that parents should give good education to their children. Our Prime Minister is being cursed by people, which is not right. Parents also have a duty to understand their responsibility. Also, I feel women are considered very strong. But there are such people who consider women as physically weak. Hopefully, the law will serve as a deterrent for them,” Khosla said.
Filmmaker Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, who made her debut with the 2016 hit comedy-drama ‘Nil Battey Sannata,’ backed the Centre’s move.
“It is a good thing that such laws are being created so that all men should respect women. But on the contrary, every law has good and bad aspects. There is also a need to consider this as well,” she said.
Calling for social change, she urged other filmmakers to throw light on sexual assault issues, as it was necessary to change the mentality of the society.
“I have always made films for social change. ‘Nil Battey Sannata’ is one of them. I believe that in the future, if necessary, we will make such films by taking a social change in the country,” Tiwari added.
Actor Shahid Kapoor, who won the Best Actor Award for the film ‘Padmaavat’ at Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards, also welcomed the central government’s move to award death penalty to child rapists.
“A very harsh punishment is required to create a certain mindset in the people who even think of such horrifying crime. It is important to put something very strong as an example for them. I am very happy that the issue has been brought up. People cannot ignore it now since wrong things are happening every time,” the star said.
Actress Shilpa Shetty also lauded the Centre’s move as well, saying, “I think it (ordinance of POCSO Act) is a good step. People who do such horrifying crime should be punished in the harshest way possible. The crime itself is so brutal.”
Actress Aditi Rao Hydari too voiced her support of the Centre’s move to punish child rapists and said, “I am very happy that such a step has been taken by the government. It is a victory for every girl and her parents in this country. It is a great day to get this news.”
Actress Kriti Sanon, while praising the move, stressed on the need to fast-track rape cases, so that justice could be served to the victims in a proper manner.
Terming the crime as “animalistic and horrible,” she said, “Really glad that such a strong punishment would be given to such people. I am really happy that it has finally happened. I feel angry whenever I hear about such cases. But we have to fast-track such cases. I hope the government would address the issue for ensuring speedy justice to the victims.”
Actress Tamannah Bhatia slammed the rise in crimes against women as “disgusting.”
“These are so disgusting and are heinous crimes. The idea of rape is itself not good. I am happy about the strong punishment under the amended law. Rape is a crime that should be given the most brutal punishment,” Tamannah asserted.
Meanwhile, veteran actress and prominent talk show hostess Simi Garewal welcomed the Centre’s move and urged the government to take strict action against the offenders.
“This step is really good. I am unable to sleep at night when I hear about such cases. I don’t know what is happening in our country. This is not our India. The government should not only punish the guilty, but they should be publicly punished, so as to instill fear among the people,” she asserted.